Group Teen Triple P

About the program

Group Teen Triple P (GTTP) is a version of the Triple P program specifically for parents of teenagers up to 16 years old.

Throughout the program, parents:

• Learn about the influences of adolescent behavior
• Set specific goals
• Use strategies to promote teenagers skills development
• Manage inappropriate behavior
• Teach emotional self-regulation
• Learn how to plan around risk-taking behavior and risky situations
• Promoting their teenages development and potential

The program places a strong emphasis on the importance of parents acknowledging and encouraging the growing independence of their teen. Recognition is given to the likelihood of teenagers engaging in risky behavior and providing parents with ways to assist their teen to manage these challenges effectively.

See also the following Program Summaries in the Preventing Child Maltreatment Evidence Review:

• Triple P
• Triple P - Enhanced group behavioural family intervention

See also the Self-Directed Triple P Program Summary in the Reducing Child Harm and Maltreatment Evidence Review.

Who does it work for?

GTTP was designed for parents of adolescents up to 16 years old, who have concerns about their teenagers level of behavioural problems or who wish to prevent behavioural problems from developing.

The program has been evaluated in New Zealand (Chu et al. 2015).

A randomised control trial was conducted with both indigenous and non-Indigenous New Zealander families with children aged 12-15 years old. It involved 58 people (27 in the intervention group and 31 in the control group). On average mothers were 44 years old, and children were 13 years old. Most families were Caucasian and had stable above average income.

The program has not been evaluated in Australia with Aboriginal Australians.      

What outcomes does it contribute to?

Positive Outcomes:

• Family functioning: lower levels of family conflict are reported by both mothers and adolescents 6 months after the program is completed.
• Negative parenting behaviours: significantly lower use of laxness and over-reactivity as dysfunctional parenting practices are reported.
• Positive parenting behaviours: increased levels of parental monitoring are reported by both mothers and adolescents 6 months after the program is completed.

No effect:

• Inter-parental relationship: the program shows no effect on rates of inter-parental conflicts over child rearing and relationship quality.
• Parenting Attitude: the program shows no effect on parent confidence in mothers 6 month after the program has been completed.
• Parent’s mental health: the program shows no significant effect on self-reported depression and anxiety scales in mothers.

Negative Outcomes:

• No negative effects were found.

How effective is it?

The Group Teen Triple P system has a mixed impact on client outcomes.

How strong is the evidence?

Mixed Research Evidence (with no adverse effects):

• At least one high-quality randomised controlled trial (RCT)/quasi-experimental design (QED) study reports statistically significant positive effects for at least one outcome, AND
• An equal number or more RCT/QED studies of similar size and quality show no observed effects than show statistically significant positive effects, AND
• No RCT/QED studies show statistically significant adverse effects.

How is it implemented?

GTTP is implemented through 8 sessions delivered over 8 weeks.

This is broken down into:

• Four 2-hour group sessions with up to 12 parents. The four sessions cover: positive parenting, encouraging appropriate behaviour, managing problem behaviour, and dealing with risky behaviour. These sessions provide parents opportunities to learn and refine the use of positive parenting strategies through observation, discussion, practice, and feedback. Segments from the DVD Every Parent’s Guide to Teenagers are used to demonstrate positive parenting skills. Between sessions, parents complete take home tasks to consolidate their learning from the group sessions.
• Three 15-30-minute individual telephone sessions: individual sessions assist parents to fine-tune implementing the parenting strategies they’ve learnt and to problem-solve any implementation difficulties.
• One final group session: parents return for a final group session to review progress and look at way to maintain changes and problem-solving for the future. Referrals are discussed if necessary.

The program is delivered by accredited Triple P facilitators. Facilitators are provided with a program kit, containing a program manual, DVD, and a disc containing power point slides. Following completion of each group and telephone session, facilitators complete session checklists.

How much does it cost?

Not reported.

What else should I consider?

Sessions were delivered in community locations across Auckland. This was to accommodate parents’ preferences in location and increase accessibility.

Where does the evidence come from?

One Randomised Controlled Trial with 58 people in New Zealand (Chu et al. 2015).

Further resources

For more information about Triple P see: https://www.triplep.net/glo-en/home/

Group Teen Triple P: https://www.triplep.net/files/7115/8626/4344/ENG_Group_Teen_Triple_P_LTR.pdf

Chu et al. (2015), ‘Parent and Adolescent Effects of a Universal Group Program for the Parenting of Adolescents’, Prevention Science, vol. 16, pp. 609-620.